Vice President, People Business Partner

The shape of it

In the posting’s own words

You will set the direction for People Business Partnership across Engineering and help leaders anticipate the organizational and talent needs of a large, global technical organization. This role requires someone who can advise executives on complex decisions, lead through an experienced team, and ensure that priorities translate into practical plans and strong execution.

What it asks for · 14

• An experienced People leader with at least 15 years of progressive HR or People Business Partner experience, including significant experience leading teams
• Experienced managing people managers and building strong, layered People Business Partner teams
• A trusted partner to C-level executives, with the judgment and credibility to influence significant organizational and talent decisions
• Experienced supporting a complex, global organization through periods of significant growth and change
• Experienced working with a large-scale Engineering organization; experience supporting a global Engineering population of several thousand employees is highly preferred
• Comfortable working with technical leaders and able to develop a strong understanding of Engineering organizations, talent, and operating models
• Deeply experienced in organizational design, workforce planning, executive succession, talent management, performance management, compensation, change management, and employee relations
• Able to connect business and technology priorities to clear people plans and drive execution through others
• Highly analytical and able to use data to identify patterns, challenge assumptions, and make practical recommendations
• Skilled at identifying systemic issues and developing solutions that can scale across a large organization
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity, competing priorities, and sensitive situations with sound judgment and calm
• A strong coach who can develop executives, senior leaders, people managers, and members of your own team
• Clear and direct in your communication, with the ability to influence while maintaining strong working relationships
• Able to operate at the executive level while remaining close enough to the organization to understand what is happening and where intervention is needed

What the job covers

• Lead and develop a global team of People Business Partners, including people managers and individual contributors, setting clear priorities, expectations, and standards for the organization
• Serve as a trusted partner to the CTO and Engineering leadership team on organizational, leadership, and talent matters
• Develop a deep understanding of Datadog’s business, technology, Engineering organization, and the talent required to support its continued growth
• Help leaders design organizations that can scale, with clear leadership structures, roles, accountabilities, and decision-making
• Partner with Engineering leadership to continue driving the organization’s AI transformation, including how AI changes engineering work, technical capabilities, team design, and workforce needs
• Lead workforce and headcount planning across Engineering, including decisions related to organizational shape, level mix, critical capabilities, location, and allocation of talent
• Advise leaders on succession planning, leadership effectiveness, performance, compensation, retention, internal mobility, and employee engagement
• Anticipate organizational risks and talent needs, bringing forward clear recommendations before issues become barriers to the business
• Use people and business data to identify trends, test assumptions, and influence decisions across the Engineering organization
• Coach senior Engineering leaders as they build their organizations, navigate change, and strengthen the performance of their teams
• Ensure Engineering’s career paths, talent practices, and manager expectations remain clear, scalable, and connected to the needs of the organization
• Oversee complex and sensitive employee relations matters, balancing business needs, employee experience, consistency, and risk

Tools and skills named

Words the posting leans on

• people23×
• organization17×
• engineering15×
• business13×
• partner11×
• leaders10×
• talent10×
• leadership7×
• people business7×
• clear6×
• develop6×
• experienced6×
• organizational6×
• ensure5×
• executives5×
• global5×

Counted from the posting after the mission statement and the legal notices are set aside. The ones near the top are the ones a screener is looking for.

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